Democratic candidate Sylvia Swayne is seeking to become the first openly transgender person to serve in the Alabama House of Representatives.
Swayne is running for the open House District 55 seat following the vacancy left by former Rep. Fred Plump. Democratic primary voters in the district gave the advantage to Travis Hendrix, a sergeant with the Birmingham Police Department, who is running for the seat again after running against Plump and longtime incumbent Rod Scott in 2022.
Swayne, who is white, is running in a majority-Black district. According to the Alabama Atlas, the district is 72.1% Black and 20.7% White.
Her campaign has also received an influx of out-of-state contributions from LGBTQ organizations and advocates.
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Milwaukee venture fund capitalist Chris Abele, according to campaign filings with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, has donated $35,000 to Swayne’s campaign.
Abele is chairman of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund – which endorsed Swayne. He is president of CSA Partners, a venture capital fund focused on high growth startup companies. From 2011-20, Abele was the chief executive for Milwaukee County.
“She’ll be the first trans person to be elected into the state leg in Alabama and is the first trans woman to run for state office in AL!,” the group wrote in its endorsement.
The stated mission of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is “to build long term LGBTQ+ political power by helping elect LGBTQ+ leaders at every level of government.”
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Swayne narrowly beat Phyllis E. Holden-Jones for second place and a spot in the runoff.
It surprised Alabama political observers when she placed ahead of six local leaders in the Democratic primary to advance to the runoff primary at age 26.
The district seat became vacant when Rep. Fred “Coach” Plump (D-Fairfield) resigned and admitted guilt in a corruption probe.
Hendrix is a former school resource officer. He has the endorsements of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville), the Alabama Forestry Association, and others.
In the primary, Hendrix received 670 votes (27.91%) in a crowded Democratic primary field. Swayne had 515 votes (21.45%), earning her a spot in the runoff by just 30 votes.
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